Anny Bakalian and Mehdi Bozorgmehr

September 11, 2001, inalterably changed the sense of security that Americans had enjoyed for decades. For Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans, the date also marked the beginning of hate crimes, discrimination, and government initiatives targeted against them. Backlash 9/11 provides the first comprehensive analysis of the impact of post-9/11 events on Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans and considers their organized response. Through fieldwork and interviews with community leaders, authors Bakalian and Bozorgmehr demonstrate how ethnic organizations mobilized to show their commitment to the United States and its ideals while defending their civil rights and establishing their opposition to all forms of terrorism. Anny Bakalian is associate director and Mehdi Bozorgmehr is co-Director of the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center at the Graduate Center. Bozorgmehr is also associate professor of sociology at the Graduate Center and City College.